NYSNA Northwell Nurses Deliver 10-Day Strike Notice For Over 1,000 Nurses at Three Long Island Hospitals
For immediate release: Friday, Jan. 2, 2025
Contact: Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
NYSNA NORTHWELL NURSES DELIVER 10-DAY STRIKE NOTICE FOR OVER 1,000 NURSES AT THREE LONG ISLAND HOSPITALS
More Than 1,000 NYSNA Nurses at Northwell/Huntington Hospitals, Northwell/Plainview, and Northwell/Syosset Could Join 20,000 Private Sector NYC Nurses in Striking if Hospitals Do Not Agree to Contracts that Protect Patient Care with Safe Staffing and Guaranteed Healthcare Benefits for Frontline Caregivers
New Hyde Park, N.Y. - On Friday, Jan. 2, New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) nurses at Northwell/Plainview, Northwell/Syosset, and Northwell/Huntington Hospitals delivered 10-day strike notices. These notices give hospital management ten days to reach a fair contract that protects safe patient care and healthcare benefits for the nurses who care for patients across Long Island. If agreements are not reached, Northwell nurses would join 20,000 nurses at private sector hospitals in New York City and go on strike on Jan. 12, 2026.
More than 1,000 nurses at the three Northwell hospitals have been bargaining for union contracts for months that ensure safe staffing ratios and guarantee healthcare benefits for frontline nurses. Northwell, the largest private employer in the state, has responded with delay tactics and proposals to make staffing levels less safe for Long Island patients, including staffing ratios that would require emergency room nurses to care for up to 12 patients at a time. Northwell has also unilaterally changed nurses’ access to union reps and created a coercive employee handbook which threatens discipline for union activity.
Meloi Policastro, RN, at Northwell/Syosset, said, “We are ready to settle fair contracts, but staffing continues to be a sticking point that Northwell will not budge on. Nurses fight for our patients, and we will continue to fight for patients across Long Island until we get safe staffing ratios that ensure that our patients are safe and that we are able to give the best care possible.”
Grace Silva, RN, at Northwell/Huntington, said, “A strike is always a last resort. But we are willing to take this sort of action if it helps improve care on Long Island. We know Northwell can afford to invest in safe patient care, so there is no reason why we should be asked to care for patients under conditions that are untenable. If Northwell cares about this community, they need to ensure there are enough nurses at the bedside to safely care for patients. Long Island deserves better.”
Chris Coburn, RN, at Northwell/Plainview, said, “Nurses on Long Island have never been more united. We hope this sends the message to Northwell that nurses are serious about improving care. We need change and we need it now, because our patients deserve quality care and nurses deserve the health coverage that keeps us safe and able to give the care patients need."
NYSNA nurses know that Northwell can afford to invest in safe patient care. Northwell is investing in outrageous salaries and benefit packages for hospital executives. In 2023, the 20 top executives at Northwell made over $36.7 million in salaries, bonuses, and perks.
NYSNA launched a new website and advertising campaign called “Northwealth” calling attention to Northwell’s outrageous executive pay, investment in expanding through mergers and acquisitions, and history of hiking up patient prices after they acquire smaller community hospitals. NYSNA members at all Northwell hospitals are fighting to make sure Northwell puts patients before profits.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, BSN, RN, CCRN, said, “I’m so proud of these Long Island Northwell nurses who continue to go up against the largest private employer and healthcare system in New York state to protect patient care. It’s not easy. But nurses have shown that they’re determined and that they won’t stop until they get the fair contracts that nurses and patients deserve.”
NYSNA Northwell nurses across New York have won strong contracts in recent years, including at Northwell/South Shore University Hospital earlier this year, and at LIJ Valley Stream, Peconic Bay Medical Center and Staten Island University Hospital in 2024. NYSNA is the voice of RNs throughout the Northwell system, representing over 5,225 members at seven facilities throughout Long Island and Staten Island. Together, NYSNA nurses have secured unioncontracts that raise the standards for patients, nurses, and our communities.
Approximately 20,000 NYSNA nurses in 12 New York City hospitals are also bargaining and have delivered strike notices. NYSNA nurses at Northwell facilities on Long Island are ready to grow the movement for quality patient careacross New York state by going out on strike at the same time as their New York City union siblings.
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The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.